A short time ago, President Bush spoke with Secretary Baker about
the Secretary's discussions earlier today with President Chirac and
Chancellor Schroeder on the issue of restructuring and reducing Iraq's
debt burden.

Debt restructuring and reduction is critical to helping the Iraqi
people build a free and prosperous nation. Therefore, France, Germany,
and the United States agree that there should be substantial debt
reduction for Iraq in the Paris Club in 2004, and will work closely
with each other and with other countries to achieve this objective.
What specifically constitutes "substantial" debt reduction will be
determined by future agreement between the parties.